HOW very refreshing to read the call by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for Malay students to enrol in institutions of higher learning with equal racial breakdown if they want to gain a competitive edge.

How right he is that if Malay students wish to attain superlative academic achievements, they must compete with others.

I wish Dr Mahathir had preached and practised this principle when he was Education Minister and then Prime Minister for 22 years.

I remember how I was chided for being “politically incorrect” and “acting against national interest” when I had used the same argument in advocating that a mere 10% of non-Malay students be admitted into my university’s Matriculation programme in the late 70s.